virus stuff, the cloud cover ""costa concordia."" people do tend to move on because they are a very good deal in tough economic times. >> bookings did not go down after ""costa concordia."" the question is what kind of maybe settlements they'll have to come to. when you buy a ticket, it's clear, you know, people were just inconvenienced, no one was hurt. >> i understand micky arison is part owner of the miami heat but on tuesday we didn't know this was going to have a relatively happy ending. it just made me cringe to see a rich guy at a basketball game while these passengers are stuck on a boat. but anyway, good happy ending to the whole thing. coming up, gas prices are up. i'll tell you where you might benefit from the price of energy. all stations come over to mission a for a final go.

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i'm going to talk to you about gasoline prices then tell you where you might be benefitting from the price of energy. take a look at the average price of gasoline. it's jumped 35 cents a gallon in one month to $3.64 a gallon.

everyone's asking why are prices so high? the biggest determinant of gas prices is by far oil, and it's been hanging around in the 95 to $100 range for the last few months. this is for light sweet crude that is used in the united states. brent crude, which is the world standard, is actually much higher than this price. when oil goes up, gas prices go up. i can't do anything about gas prices. what i can tell you about is how you might be saving money elsewhere in the energy world and how you might actually make some money out of it. this is all of our energy consumption in the united states by different sources. we patrol makes up 36%, coal 20%. renewables only 9%, nuclear energy 8%. take a look at the 26% that is natural gas. in the last five years we've been squeezing, pulling, and extracting natural gas from everywhere we can find it. this is a natural gas boom in this country. the amount extracted has gone up 19% over the course of five

years. back in 2008, before the recession, natural gas was running at $13.31 per million british thermal units. that's how they measure it. today it's around 3.34 million. while most people think the price will go back up maybe to, say, $6 per million, few believe that it's going to get up to that $13 we saw in 2008 anytime soon. that's because natural gas is a source of energy, and what you're seeing is some conversion from other sources of electricity like coal into natural gas. a lot of companies that are heavy users of electricity like steel production or heavy industry manufacturing, are benefitting from this low price of natural gas. so you could see a boom in industry and industrial jobs in the united states because of this low price of natural gas. now you're not going to see much relief from higher gasoline prices any time soon. you may be able to take advantage of the natural gas boom because you'll pay less on your electricity bill. you can also take advantage by investing in this domestic energy boom.

here to talk more about this is steven leeb, an energy expert, heads leeb capital management. steven is an author of many books, he's something of an energy expert. steven, let's talk about fracking. that's what the natural gas boom is all about. it's a way to get natural gas from deep underground. so we have a boom under way. but you don't believe it's something people should be investing in, particularly natural gas. >> i don't think people should be investing in the producers of natural gas, ali, because the commodity is so volatile. i mean, basically if the weather report changes natural gas can go up 10% or 15%. and when natural gas prices rise, typically i'm looking at colder weather if it's in the winter. if it's in the summer i'm looking at much hotter weather. >> right. >> so it's very difficult. with natural gas prices between 300 and 350, there are not a lot of producers that will make any serious money here. >> steven, you are one of those

guys who think the price of natural gas is going to go up to $5 or $6, maybe more. why is that not a good way to invest in this? >> i think that, a, i could be wrong, and b, i think in the economy that we have today, where it's so hard to earn money, if you put your money in the bank you'll be lucky to get 1% or 2%. >> right. >> there are companies that actually transport natural gas from one place to another in existing pipelines. they get paid for that. and they're structured -- >> regardless of what the price of natural gas is. >> regardless. they'll do a little better with higher natural gas. so you're not giving up the possibility that natural gas will go up. you still would do better. but what you are getting near term is a very, very good yield. companies like atlas pipeline. yields about 7%. and basically that yield is as secure as the transportation of natural gas.

oneok yields about 5% and that, again s a very, very secure yield. if you really want to be a little more adventurous, maybe play lng, there's a company in california, sempra. they own renewable utilities, they have a lot of natural gas and basically cover the gamut and yield about 3% and they do have i think a lot of growth in front of them. so that would be one way. i think the best way for the typical person to play it, because you're getting decent immediate income and you're not giving up chances for capital appreciation. >> stephen leeb, always a pleasure to talk with you. thank you for being with us. the natural gas gas market is on fire, literally. but video clips like this haven't put a stop to fracking. or hydraulic fracturing. the number of gas wells in this country continues to grow. coming up, i'll ask documentary filmmaker josh cloxx what it's going to take to make fracking safe. ] get more during red lobster's lobsterfest. with the year's largest selection of mouth-watering lobster entrees.

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those of you who are regular viewers or readers of my columns know that my argument that america is on the edge of an economic renaissance has a lot to do with the natural gas boom that is under way. that's because of major advances in the extraction of natural gas from the ground, called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. these new technologies enable drillers to extract oil and gas encased in shale formations throughout the country -- the northeast, the mountain, the plain states, the west coast. domestic natural gas production has a lot of boosters, including texas energy magnet t. boone pickens. >> we have the most natural gas of anybody and we've got to use it. it's cleaner, it's cheaper, it's abundant, and it's ours. >> and the result is that natural gas has become even more abundant and cheaper, about a

quarter of what it cost five years ago. gas companies are paying americans who properties sit on natural gas formations. that's making a lot of americans wealthy. and according to some, very sick. new york has put a moratorium on fracking in the state, and this week that moratorium was extended to spend more time reviewing health effects that shale drilling and fracking could have on local communities. now, the 2010 movie "gas land" took a highly critical view of the expansion of fracking and the state of regulatory oversight over it. have a listen. >> as we drove in the yard, there was this huge rig and semis, and the smell is so intense, the benzene was so intense that we ran for our deck. so we're in the house i'd say mostly at the most 15 minutes when i got up and passed out. and you get pains, pains all over your body. you don't know why you're getting the pains. and then they come and go.

>> josh fox is the filmmaker. josh, good to see you. thank you for being with us. you didn't start up with a problem with natural gas. in fact, you own a property where they were offering to pay you money. >> well, absolutely. it was a lease that was worth initially about $100,000 and then of course the promise of more once royalties are running in. but now i am in a situation where i am surrounded in the upper delaware, which is part of the watershed for new york city and philadelphia, about 16 million people, i'm surrounded by people who have leased. and we jekted that offer because we found out or i did traveling around the country on a sort of fact-finding mission that this is devastating to live near. when you talk act money, you know, if the people across from me, for example, get the right to drill, which so far they haven't, so pictures like these actually have stopped drilling in places like new york, like the upper delaware river -- >> but according to your film and other research, there's a whole lot of that going on across the country.

>> there is. what i'm saying to you, if they were to drill, and this is my experience talking to people, my house is worthless. my house is not worth that much money. >> right. >> it's maybe $150,000, $200,000, something like that, but if they drill next to me, those people make $150,000 and they've taken that money out of my pocket. and there's millions of people in that situation. we'll come out with "gas land two" which tracks these stories which are emblematic of people around the nation, who have literally been forced to move out of properties that they've been on for three or four generations. this is not a small problem. this is a huge problem. >> let's talk about your main criticism of the oil and gas industry is that fracking has been exempt from the clean water -- the safe drinking water act of 2005. can you explain this? >> basically in 2005 the bush-cheney government and the congress passed the energy policy act, which contained something called the halliburton loophole, an xemings to the safe drinking wagter act.

our primary public health ground water protection law for americans. it states if you are injecting toxic materials in the ground, you have to report them to the epa. they're exempt from that. and the fracking process injects enormous amounts of toxic material. >> members of congress put forward a bill to take that exemption out. this is from your film. >> thanks. >> i'm not personally familiar with your bill, ma'am. >> it makes chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing subject to the reporting requirements of the safe drinking water act. >> as stated earlier, we believe that the current regulatory -- >> yes or no? >> we believe the current regulatory framework -- >> so, yes, you would object to my bill because you don't think we would need to report it under the safe drinking water act even though you say the chemicals are safe. correct? >> correct. >> so what happened with that? >> well, the frac act died. it wasn't a priority. when the republicans took over congress, it wasn't getting on the agenda. >> if it were subject to the safe drinking act, you'd have a lot fewer problems with it. >> no.

>> your film indicates they put in 500 some-odd chemicals. >> this is the tip of the iceberg. the chemmals is a small piece of the problem. a gas well is a pipe of steel surrounded by cement. that cement cracks and leaks at enormous rates. the natural gas industry's own statistics, and you can take a look at this in "the sky is pink," say 5% of the cement cracks and fails within -- immediately. and 50% fails over a 30-year period which means you're creating a conduit punching through the aquifers throughout this nation. if you want to look at the areas that they're proposing to drill, i did bring a little bit of a visual aid, that's the map of gas exploration in the united states. this is the proposal. one to two million new wells in america at the high end, one well per 150 people. >> josh fox is writer and director of "gas land." thanks for joining us. >> i really appreciate it. >> what is the most expensive thing the government spends money on? it now costs twice as much as everything else the government spends money on combined.

i'll tell you about it when we come back. (phone ringing)

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the budget, the sequester, the debt ceiling. it all boils down to government spending. the problem in washington is that neither side is listening to each other but lucky for you i am listening to everyone. >> now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform. >> americans do not -- do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes. >> now, conservatives, i get where your frustration is coming from. with the state of the economy right now, it feels like your tax money is being tossed into a black hole and you get nothing in return. that's what it really comes down to a return on your investment, your tax. it's true the last 50 years or so our government has gone from being one that invests in the few. charge you are to one that feeds consumption. entitlement programs rose from one-third to two-thirds of

government spending over that time and our debt is out of control. raising the tax on the rich won't solve the problem. my solution is we use some of the additional revenue to fix our crumbling infrastructure that will kick start investment, employment and america's future. the u.s. was just ranked 25th in overall quality of infrastructure by the world economic forum. we tied for 33rd with bosn bosnia-herzegovina with the state of our electrical grid. investing in the infrastructure does end up paying in the long and short term. every dollar spent on infrastructure boosts gdp by $2 according to a report from the san francisco fed and when the companies see investing in electrical grids and roads and broadband it becomes worth it for them to return to the u.s. and invest. president obama explain it had well in his state of the union

on tuesday. >> christine romans back. will cane is a contributor around resident nice guy conservative. will, let me -- just hold on a second. >> hold on. >> yeah. >> can i -- congratulations. >> why? >> who told you taxes are going to go up on everyone? there's not enough rich people in the country to pay for all -- >> always agreed with you on that i would like -- i have been on the record on this i would like a return on investment like everybody would f your taxes are going up, i would like to think we are getting something in return. don't try -- i heard you mutt berg this in the break. you are going to say i think is a job creation program, that infrastructure not a great job

creation program. i'm not really worried about it as a job creation program. i think it will be great incidentally if we build all these things and they create jobs. i'm really concerned about the fact in 15 or 20 years if we do not keep our infrastructure up, we will not be competitive. businesses will go to countries that have good infrastructure and not in the united states. >> that's good stuff. let's start with the places were we disagree, okay? in your setup, you said the last 50 years, our economy has moved from one thain vests in the future to one that feels con ump ises. the words you left out appropriately s than appropriate role for government? i think president obama in the state of the union reflected that sentiment you talked about. is that the role of government, continue to put little chinks in front of the pac-man to continue to eat it? is that the role we want? i say it shows little faith in the american innovator, the country that invented the iphone, has the highest per capita gdp, gave birth to will any nelson.

>> in fact, we are not taking tax dollars and using them to fund an infrastructure bank where we are fixing roads and brings and building new struck. >> something i found interesting this week, a survey from td ameritrade. we don't agree on how we want to spend our money but all of those things are -- paying for things that americans are used to. >> none of them actually are talking about infrastructure. >> let's return to that >> nobody says i want my tax dollars go to build a better electrical grid and bridges and things like that we assume that is somehow paid for. >> we do a good transition where you and i agree.

infrastructure a fine investment if it serves the end goal of creating better infrastructure. build a bridge because a bridge needs building. >> correct. >> don't have it be make-ready work, busy work for the american worker, 'cause it's poor at that, right? stimulative infrastructure has to be targeted, timely, rarely is those things, president obama said shovel-ready wasn't as shovel-ready as we thought f you need a bridge, build it, all right? >> we have bridges they are too narrow. wide than bridge now going to mean more traffic and volume on that bridge later. ha ha ha!

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